So Much Water So Close to Home Written by Raymond Carver - Essay Example

The pressing sense of doubt, isolation, conflict, angst and confusion marring Claire in So Much Water so close to home, which she is unable to convey to Stuart in a direct and forthcoming manner till the very end, have been rendered an apt cinematic makeover in Jindabyne, by making Claire externalize her agony in an utterly proactive, engaging and direct way. It would indeed be true to say that So Much Water so close to Home tends to be a story of a character or a psychological story. Even a cursory perusal of the story leads to the conclusion that the plot in the story accrues interest through the psychological motives governing Claire’s actions and the direction her character will take with regards to these inner and highly personal motives (March-Russell 241).

The story tends to differ from the film adaptation in the sense that throughout Claire happens to hold on to her feelings of doubt and identification with the dead girl, without taking the initiative to actively engage Stuart or to hold him accountable for his gross apathy and unconcern. The readers are introduced to Claire’s mental anguish not through her direct interactions with Stuart, but rather by according them an insight into her thought process. The entire plot hovers around Claire and her silent affiliation with the dead girl, while Stuart is kept totally insulated from her feelings and concerns.

Hence, Carver’s short story is constructed on the single notion of doubt, isolation and angst that Claire feels for her husband, as she conveys, “So much water so close to home. I say, “Why did you have to go miles away (Carver 1)?” Thereby, the way the character of Claire evolves in the short story So Much Water so close to Home tends to be more of an internal and subtle phenomenon, totally contrary to the utterly extrovert and communicative presence of Claire presented in Jindabyne.

The one peculiar thing that differentiates the growth and progression of the character of Claire in the movie Jindabyne is that it happens to be much externalized, moral and open to social repercussions and pressures.